- "Eckert, Richard L." (x)
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Show moreField of the invention: This invention relates to a bandage which continuously provides curative cell products to a wound. More particularly, the invention relates to: a bandage having a chamber for containing cells and cell culture media, said bandage having a cell product permeable membrane; to genetically engineered cells useful in said bandage; and to a method for producing such cells. Backgroung of the invention: The treatment of wounds in mammals, both animals and humans, has historically involved a simple passive bandage which provides physical protection and, to some extent, reduces infection. The treatment has progressed from this simple bandage to more active treatments. In serious wounds, particularly burns, skin grafting and skin sheets have been applied. Eventually the skin cells "take" and fill in the wound. Attempts have been made to expedite healing by introduction of various growth factors directly into the wound, see Brown G. L., Curtsinger L., Jurkiewicz M. J., Nahi F., Schultz G., (1991) "Stimulation of Healing of Wounds by Epidermal Growth Factor," Plast. Reconstr. Surg , Vol. 88, pp. 189-194; Brown G. L., Nanney L. B., Griffen J., Cramer A. B., Yancey J. M., Curtsinger L., Holtzin L., Schultz G., Jurkiewicz M. J., and Lynch J. B. (1989)."Enhancement of Wound Healing by Topical Treatment with Epidermal Growth Factor," New England J. Med., Vol. 321, pp. 76-79; ten Dijke P., Iwata K. K., "Growth Factors for Wound Healing" (1989) Biotechnology, Vol. 7, pp. 793-798; Pierce G. F., Mustoe T. A., Altrock B. W. Deuel T. F., Thomason A., (1991), "The Role of Platelet Derived Growth Factor in Wound Healing Cellular Biochemistry," Vol. 45, pp. 319-316; and, "EGF and PDGF-Alpha in Wound Healing and Repair," Schultz Rotatori and Clark, J. of Cellular Biochemistry, Volume 45, pp. 346-352 (1991). Growth factors encourage the proliferation and/or differentiation of the cells in the tissue within and around the wound. Several attempts have been made to introduce these growth factors into the wound by means of a topical gel or the like, applied over the surface of the wound. Such growth factor containing gels have several drawbacks. The amount of growth factor contained in these gels is fixed. Over time, the enzymes produced from the patient's own tissue may degrade the gel and/or the growth factor. The isolation and purification of the growth factor may decrease its biological activity. Attempts nave been made to drip the growth factor directly into the wound. However, this method of application is not continuous and does not provide a uniform amount of arowth factor to the different areas of the wound. In addition, many growth factors have a short half life, thus the amount of growth factor delivered to the wound substantially decreases with time. Finally, the cost of the isolated, purified growth factors is extremely high.
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT5487889
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Show moreField of the invention: The present invention pertains to the identification and characterization of a nucleic acid sequence of the human involucrin gene which targets expression of any desired nucleic acid sequence to specific tissues and specific cells. In particular, this invention relates to nucleic acid sequences which target expression of nucleic acid sequences to suprabasal cells in stratifying squamous epithelial tissue and to uroepithelial cells. In another aspect, this invention pertains to transgenic animals which exhibit certain cancers and hyperplasias. In yet another aspect, this invention pertains to methods of screening for therapeutics for epithelial neoplasia. Background of the invention: Diseases of epithelial cells are the single most common cause of morbidity and mortality of humans. Foremost among these diseases is cancer. Other diseases which are epithelial in origin include, for example, blistering disease (e.g., epidermolytic hyperkeratosis, and Dowling-Meara disease) proliferative disease (e.g., psoriasis, epidermal lysis, and Bulosa simplex) and Ichthyosis disease (e.g. Ichthyosis bullosa Simens, and recessive X-linked ichthyosis). The location of the epithelium as the lining of tissue surfaces in the body places it at a particularly high risk for repeated damage from a variety of agents in the environment. For example, most of the prevalent epithelial cancers (e.g., cancer of the lung, breast, colon, liver, cervix, etc.) are associated with exposure to carcinogens such as cigarette smoke, hydrocarbons in grilled foods, toxic molds, and infection with genital DNA tumor viruses. The evaluation of candidate therapeutics directed at the treatment of epithelial disease has traditionally focused on animal models in which the animal is repeatedly exposed to one or a combination of chemicals. For example, models for cancer development and treatment rely on administration of carcinogenic and co-carcinogenic compounds. However, one drawback to such a model is that animals treated with chemicals exhibit a multitude of genetic and metabolic alterations. The multiplicity of genetic and metabolic changes makes it difficult to determine which of this multitude of changes is causally related to the resulting disease state, and hence makes it also difficult, if not impossible, to identify candidate therapeutics which target only relevant genetic and/or metabolic lesions. The further problems of unpredictability and variability of genetic and metabolic changes in response to chemical treatment make such animals poor models for the evaluation of therapeutics. More recently, trangenic animals which harbor known genetic alterations and which express epithelial disease have been used. In particular, transgenic animal models which develop cancer and in which selected genes are expressed in epithelial cells in general (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,316; Griep et al. (1994) Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 206:24-34; Kondoh et al. (1995)
http://www.google.com/patents?vid=USPAT6313373
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